Pine nut recipes
Probably best known for their use in pesto sauce, pine nuts have a very delicate taste and texture and are high in protein which makes them especially useful in a vegetarian diet. They can be eaten raw, when they have a soft texture and a sweet buttery flavour and are especially good in salads. They are delicious toasted as this brings out their flavour and adds a little extra crunch.
I long thought that carrot cake was an American invention, until I found out that an early version was made by Venetian Jews in the original ghetto. This modest disc is not much to look at - apart from a glorious golden-ness - but it is divine to eat. Only those with less austere eating habits will care to dollop alongside each damply crumbling wedge of cake my Italianate nod to the American cream-cheese frosting – a soft, rum-flavoured mascarpone cream.
More pine nut recipes
Storage
Pine nuts are oily and rich in protein, so they tend to go rancid quite quickly; store them in the fridge and they will keep longer.
Preparation
The longer, thinner Asian varieties are higher in oil than American or Mediterranean types. Pine nuts have a rich buttery, resinous flavour and are used in many savoury dishes, especially vegetarian ones, but are particularly associated with Italian, Mediterranean and Asian cooking. They’re a key ingredient in pesto and appear in lots of pasta dishes.
